


Anywhere in time, and I will feel the same.

by scarlettmyst



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (TV Movie 1996), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22670020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarlettmyst/pseuds/scarlettmyst
Summary: The Doctor may not be able change time, but I can. I will.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Kudos: 14





	1. And the human race will call them miracles

Sometimes, very occasionally, when the water is still, and the stars shine bright, Donna Noble can remember.

Well, remember isn't quite the word she would use, but the word she would use always seemed to slip her mind.

There's a woman, blonde and smiling, she's holding Donna's hand, laughing with her. She's so happy. And Donna knows her! She's sure of it. She knows her so well, and yet she can't even remember her name. But that wasn't all, she saw other things too, creatures like some horrific eldritch beasts that her mind had conjured up, blue police boxes that wheezed and whirred as they flew through-

Eldritch? Where had she learnt that word? Come to think of it, she wasn't even too sure what it meant, though that tended to be how her mind was nowadays, always thinking the strangest things. It fascinated her, like catching glimpses of the mind of a stranger, though it couldn't be a stranger could it? Perhaps she was just going mad. That was what the first publisher had told her, and the second, and the third, until she'd given up, and published the stories by herself. They were a hit, something her grandfather had been adamant about since the beginning of course, but Donna had never really thought it could happen. 

It wasn't like she needed the money, but being recognised for something other than winning the lottery was such a wonderful feeling. People thought she was ever so clever coming up with the ideas for her books, so much so that she often worried what they'd think if they ever found out her stories were just nonsense from her dreams. Though perhaps that's what all stories are, and Donna had simply been creative enough to turn them into something people liked. 

Someone was calling her, they had been, Donna realised, for the past minute or so. She turned, and stood across the study was a girl, frowning and with her arms crossed,  
"You were doing that weird thing again, Mum." The girl said, as much concern in her voice as a ten year old could possibly manage. Donna simply tutted at her,  
"I was thinking Rosie, genius like mine doesn't come without a little bit of thought." She replied, shrugging nonchalantly. 

Little Rose was Donna's whole world. No star in the sky, no amount of money could ever compare to the joy her daughter brought her. Her name had been suggested at her grandfathers request, and Donna had thought it simply perfect. Rose. A most gorgeous, most resilient flower, just like she'd known her daughter would grow to be. 

Rose loved Donna dearly too, as any child would. But Rose hung on her mothers every word, every story she told, every flash she remembered, Rose knew them all, and could even recite them if asked. In fact, it was common knowledge that the famous 'Time Fables' was originally written by Donna Noble for her daughter as a bedtime story, they'd evolved since then of course, gotten scarier, less memory and more fantasy. 

Donna gestured for Rose to come closer, and turned back to her original position, gazing out the window at the stars. They felt so close, like if she reached out far enough she could feel their light on her skin. 

"I'm gonna be up there on day." Rose told her with a grin, and Donna raised an eyebrow,  
"Oh yeah? Well don't you go forgetting me, ay? When you're up in the stars." She smiled, bumping the girls shoulder gently,  
"I won't mum, don't you worry. I'll name a planet after you, a star! And grandad too." Donna fell silent at the mention of Wilfred, and for a moment, Rose thought she'd upset her, until she smiled again,  
"Yeah, he woulda like that."


	2. I'm outside, I wish you could hear me

Sometimes, very occasionally, Corin can see. 

It's vague, hazy, like he's trying to look through ice. But it's there, flashes of a life he could've lived but never would. Shudders of emotion that couldn't possibly belong to him, not this version of him at least.

"It's happening again, isn't it?" Asks a soft voice, and he wants to shake his head, to assure her he's alright, but even if it was possible for him to lie to her, he never would. Not to his Rose. She stepped closer, her face etched with concern at his silence, and placed a hand on his shoulder, her well practised way of calming him.

He took a breath, steadying himself, before straightening up with a smile,  
"Just a blip, that's all, gone now, nothing to worry about." Corin said instinctively, before moving to turn back to his desk. But Rose's hand was firm on his shoulder, a warning that this conversation was not over, and he was not to try and leave it again. 

"That's the third time this week y'know." She frowned, sitting down across from him, "It's getting more frequent." Corin sighed, and looked out the window beside them, down at the River below. How they'd managed to get such a view Corin wasn't sure, but he was fairly certain that Rose had become so well respected here that she could've walked into any office and claimed it as her own without a single protest. He smiled at the image of Rose kicking come stuffy Torchwood agent out of his office so that they could have it instead.

Rose's frown deepened, he had to say something, he wanted to. That was something he'd learnt these past years, that telling Rose, confiding in her, trusting her, it was so much better than hiding himself away.

"I think," He began calmly, "I think he's scared, the Doctor I mean. I can't quite tell anymore." Rose's expression softened, the Doctor, her Doctor, frightened, so frightened that it was seeping into her love's mind. "What, more frightened then when he-" She paused, wondering if she should even say the word, "Regenerated?" Corin offered, "Yeah, I think that might be the problem, actually. I used to be able to see what he was seeing, like really see it, but now? It's all flashes, like his regeneration cut our connection to each other." 

Briefly, selfishly, Rose wondered what the Doctor might be like now. Who was he travelling with? Had he found new friends? Was the Tardis still a blue police box? Was he happy? She shook her head. The Doctor was gone, an entire universe away, but Corin was here, breathing, blinking, with one beating heart, looking at her with those wide eyes, waiting for her, just as he always was.

"Do you worry about him?" Rose asked, "I mean, I know the Donna part of you must but- well, what about the Doctor part of you?"   
"I do. I worry about him and Donna and Martha and everyone else I left behind," He nodded, and Rose smiled,   
"They're all right Corin. If the Doctor is still even the slightest bit like you, then they're alright."


	3. What she knows, and what she cannot

Before his death, Wilfred Mott had spent every night of the past ten or so years outside, at the top of a hill with the best telescope money could buy (courtesy of a birthday present from Donna) searching. For what he was searching he had never told anyone, anyone aside from his great granddaughter.

On little Rose's fifth birthday, she had asked for her present to simply be to have her bedtime extended by two hours, and when questioned as to why, had simple replied with a giggle and a 'It's a secret mummy.' But it was no surprise to anyone when a mere half hour later, Wilfred had returned from up the hill with the little girl asleep in his arms. The next morning Rose had gleefully boasted that she knew what her grandfather was searching for, and that she would never ever tell anyone, ever. Donna didn't mind, whatever secret they had between them obviously meant something to the pair, and she was sure she'd find out sooner or later. She did not of course, Rose was surprisingly good at keeping secrets, and whenever she tried to ask Wilfred, he would simply smile and wink at Rose, who would burst into a fit of giggles.

Standing now, at the very top of the hill, staring out her grandfathers telescope, Rose shivered. Only recently had her mother let her come to the hill by herself, despite it being only a few metres away from their house, and so far, every night without fail she had wildly underestimated how cold it was. She missed when Wilfred would bring hot chocolate up the hill, and a spare scarf because he just knew that Rose would not wrap up quite warm enough.

The sound of frozen grass crunching beneath boots made Rose straighten up, and there she saw her mother, dressed in a ridiculously oversized coat, making her way towards her, a flask in one hand and a fold up chair tucked beneath her arm. "Alright?" Donna called, cold, white air filling the space before her as she spoke, and Rose nodded, starting towards her and taking the flask,  
"Bedtime isn't for ages yet mum," Rose frowned, sitting down on the grass as her mother haphazardly set up her seat,  
"Would I have brought a chair if it was bedtime?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the child and sitting down, "I thought I'd come see what was so special about this hill."

Rose looked at her mother for a second, examining her with furrowed brows and a stern look in her eye. "Okay, you can stay." She nodded after a moment, before handing her back the flask.  
"Didn't know I needed permission." Donna said, eyebrow raised again as she undid the cap of the drink and began to pour out the steaming hot chocolate. Rose took her's and turned back to the telescope, how she'd learnt to use it at such a young age always amazed Donna.  
"Well you do." Rose replied confidently, and her mother gave a grin,  
"Alright, alright, well thanks for letting me stay. Now what are we looking for?" But Donna received no answer, instead, her daughter simply turned to look at her like she'd just told her the Earth was flat,  
"I can't just tell you, mum!"  
"Well why not?"  
"Because- because well... that's what grandpa said!" Rose exclaimed indignantly, "And I promised him."  
"Rosie," Donna sighed, "Grandpa's-"  
"He's gone, I know. I know." The little girl said, all her previous force now gone.

There was a moment of silence between them. They both missed Wilfred, they had both loved him more dearly than almost anyone else, he had been a staple in their lives, guiding and understanding.

"A box. A blue box, a spaceship. That's what we're looking for."


	4. How far the stars may run

The next morning was not a pleasant one, though having to wake a ten year old up at seven in the morning was rarely pleasant, but this was an especially rough morning for one reason specifically.

Little Rose Noble was missing. 

Never before had Donna and Rose had an argument, and so Donna had known that when they eventually did, it would be a shock to the both of them, but running away? She never would have imagined it. Not in all her life. Donna thought back to the night before, all she'd done was told her that the blue box was a story, a fairy tale, not real. Why had it upset Rose so? 

She turned to the telescope she'd dragged in, she wasn't sure why she'd done it, perhaps she had been hoping it might offer some clue as to where her daughter had gone. It hadn't of course. Donna looked to the clock behind it; three o'clock, Rose had been missing for eight hours at the very least, possibly more. 

Police had been in the house already, they'd searched every room, every inch of land, every box, every wardrobe. Rose was gone, there was no way around it, she was gone and Donna didn't have the faintest idea where. There was always the possibility that she'd been taken of course, but the look in Rose's eye last night... how could Donna have not realised? How could she have been so blind? 

Donna found herself stood over the telescope, hands balled into fists. Stupid telescope, stupid stars, stupid Tardis, stupid Donna, stupid, stupid. 

She brought her fist down on the fragile instrument, and with a dreadful crack, the lens shattered into the floor, sending glass all over her carpet. She did it again, and something expensive looking snapped clean in half, again and the telescope seemed to crumple into a mess of cogs and wire on the floor. 

Donna let out a sob. She'd destroyed it, Wilfreds prized possession, now how would Rose see the stars when she got home? How would she look for the Tardis? The Tardis- 

There was a knock at the door, and Donna raced towards it, they'd found Rose, that must be it, they'd found her and brought her home, she wrenched the door open.

"Donna Noble?" Said the woman in front of her, "I'm going to need you to come with me." She added, and Donna noticed that her name tag read 'Martha'


End file.
